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Ex-deputy gets 40 years for sexually assaulting inmates

Ex-deputy gets 40 years for sexually assaulting inmates

A former Cobb County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty Monday to sexually assaulting female inmates, according to the county’s district attorney.

Alvin Blake Sutherland, 52, of Douglasville, was sentenced to 40 years, 20 of which will be served in prison, DA Vic Reynolds said.

Sutherland admitted having sexual encounters, including some that were forced, with five inmates at the Cobb jail and elsewhere between June 2009 and January of this year. Sutherland was arrested in January and indicted two months later. He was being held in the Douglas County jail without bond.

Sutherland’s 11-year-old daughter was among three people who asked the court for leniency during the hearing Monday morning, the DA’s office said.

“My dad has so much love inside of him,” the girl told the court. “Please let my dad come home with his dear family.”

As part of his sentencing, Sutherland will also be registered as a sex offender.

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